


Los Angelitos

by hannelore



Category: Grim Fandango
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-24
Updated: 2012-12-24
Packaged: 2017-11-22 07:53:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/607547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hannelore/pseuds/hannelore
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Meche reads to Bibi and Pugsy every Monday afternoon. There are few pages left before she reaches the end of the book.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Los Angelitos

**Author's Note:**

  * For [totty](https://archiveofourown.org/users/totty/gifts).



> This is pre-Grim Fandango in the "fat days" with a living Meche, Bibi and Pugsy. I was so excited to see someone request GF because it is such an awesome game! I also love Meche and I wanted to gift you a treat of a little snippet of her with the kids. Happy Yuletide!

Meche looked at her watch and sighed. She glanced up at the clock above the receptionist's desk, to make sure her watch was correct. This was unusual, for them to keep her waiting so long. She was sure this was because the usual reception was not on duty. Ordinarily when she arrived, the receptionist greeted her by name and would let her in. 

"Miss Colomar?"

Meche looked up with surprise. They never spoke to her this formally either. The stern woman beckoned her to the receptionist window.

"As I said earlier," she said to Meche, "you are not on the visitor list. I'm sorry, you won't be able to visit them."

"But if you would only check the logs," Meche said, gesturing to the thick book on the reception desk, "You would see I have been visiting Bibi and Pugsy for weeks now. Maria --"

"Maria is out sick and not in charge," the woman barked back at her. "You are not on the visitor list Miss Colomar, therefore I can't --"

The door opened behind her and one of the children's doctors (Meche could not remember his name, they usually did not bother her when she was there.) came into the receptionist office looking puzzled. When he saw Meche, his face brightened immediately. 

"Meche! Thank goodness, the twins put up such a fuss when you weren't here this morning. They absolutely refused to take their medicine because of it. Miss Russo, were you just showing Miss Colomar in?"

"But she --"

"She should have been in here a half hour ago," he glared at her. "Show her in at once." His face softened once more as he looked Meche's way gratefully. "If you'll just wait outside their room, I'll let them know you're here."

\---

Meche waited. She should have been annoyed to wait yet again, but knowing she would see Bibi and Pugsy soon made the waiting much easier. She glanced down at her book and noticed the bookmark was fearfully close to the end of the story. More times than she could remember, a child would seem to cling to life until the story was finished. Or at least the nurses would tell her this. 

The twins were very dear to her as they were orphans, just like herself. When she was a little girl, the nuns would tell her that she was very smart and if she would study hard she could do very well for herself. Meche did try, but she always found herself distracted by the plight of others. She would be caught trying to nurse a baby bird back to health, keeping the little fragile thing in a box under her bed...

_"Meche!" Sister Bella admonished her as she pulled the box out from underneath her bed. "Oh, not another one."_

_"I couldn't just leave it outside," Meche said mournfully, looking down at the baby bird hopping around inside the box, its little claws making sounds on the cardboard. "I was sure it was going to get eaten by a cat."_

_"You can't go around trying to save every thing you find," the nun sighed as she touched Meche's cheek. "You are not a bird, only other birds can help it. Come, let's take it back outside."_

_"But Sister, what if the cats get to it first?" Meche protested as she followed her outdoors. "The poor thing..."_

_"Its fate is not up to you, little one," Sister Bella looked sympathetically down at Meche. Meche stomped her feet angrily._

_"But if I can help this bird, it is my fate to help it!" Meche shouted._

_"One day, you might understand that we can't save everything. No matter how much we hope to. Go on back inside."_

_"But -- "_

_"Enough, Meche. Go!"_

Meche looked up suddenly as she heard the door open. It was the doctor and he only smiled at her briefly before continuing down the hallway. She never asked the doctors how the children were doing or their progress. She knew, after many years of coming here to read to the children, that the progress was always going poorly. She also knew it was better not to ask. She took a deep breath and went into the room.

\---

Meche closed the book.

"Do you have to go already?" Bibi said. Pugsy was already asleep.

"I do," Meche said apologetically, taking the little girl's hand in hers. "But you know I will be here next Monday as always, right?"

"Pugsy snores," Bibi said, frowning. "I wish we didn't have to sleep in the same room." 

Meche laughed. "Oh, but then who would be here to tease him for snoring when he wakes?"

Bibi giggled. She squeezed Meche's hand. Meche was worried at how weak the girl was, much more than last week. The twins had been sick for a long time, yet every week they seemed to rally again. She looked down at her bookmark. Meche had lied, she did not have to leave yet, but she did not want to finish the book. Not yet.

"You know what else I tease him about?" Bibi said.

"What?"

"He cries in his sleep."

"Oh, Bibi, that's mean, you shouldn't do that. Do you know what is wrong?"

"He doesn't want to die," Bibi said. "But I'm not afraid, Meche. I think we will die together, because we are twins. Do you think that will happen?"

Meche paused for a moment. She used to refuse to talk about death to the little children she read stories to, but it always seemed to make them more anxious. She always felt it was important to be truthful to them. "I don't know, but I hope it will."

"Me too," Bibi nodded. "Because then we will be together. And we will come visit you on the Day of the Dead!"

"You'd better," Meche said with a sly look, "otherwise you will get no bread."

"Will you leave us books too?" Bibi said, her face lighting up. "I think we would want books too." 

"I will cover many books with beautiful _cempasúchil_ ," Meche promised. "I will do this for you both."

"I will tell Pugsy all these things when he wakes up," Bibi said. "Then I don't think he'll be so sad anymore when he is sleeping."

"You are a good girl," Meche said with a smile. "You must promise to take care of Bibi for me when I am gone."

"You mean when _we_ are gone," Bibi said anxiously. 

"Of course," Meche said, squeezing the little girl's hand again. "Of course."


End file.
